The Search: Trust series 4
by boaterV
Summary: He thought once he found her they could just go back to the way it was. Sometimes there is no turning back. No pretending it didn't happen.


Number 4 in my Trust is More than a Word Series.

Parker and Elliot.

He had been searching for 3 months.

The team had wanted him to come back. To let them go after her together but he had ignored them. It didn't take long before they switched tactics and just tried to offer help. Hardison sent text messages everyday with any tiny detail he could get. Sophie left him rambling voicemails about what Parker might be thinking and Nate…

Nate didn't do anything. Eliot knew he had to be helping. No way he was just sitting back but his silence spoke more than words. He tried not to think about it though. He had to find Parker. He could worry about the rest of the team after that.

He held his breath as he waited for the blonde to turn. He had been sitting on the roof for the better part of two days hoping to catch a glimpse of the "strange woman" the islanders had told him about. All signs pointed to Parker but he had to be sure.

The sun glinted off her hair as her head tilted back. She appeared to be laughing at something as she walked with a small group of street urchins. Not for the first time he wondered if she would be better off not being found.

He watched as she turned the corner and he finally saw he whole face.

Parker.

It was her. She looked happy and care free and he found a smile tugging at his lips. There was something about her smile that made him smile.

There had always been something about her. Something that made him warm inside. For the first time since he started looking for her he realized it would never be the same.

He could bring her back. He could return her to the team but he would no longer be a part of it.

His feelings for her would never allow them to work together again.

He climbed down from his perch and followed her. He kept his distance as she walked down a beach and ducked into the jungle. Keeping back as she made her way up a trail and into a dark grove.

At he stepped out into the light he saw a large cabin. Incongruous with the surrounding trees in all it's modern and shining glory. It was all glass and steel and it glowed on the spots where the sun touched it.

He made his way to the door with as much stealth as he could muster, unfurling his body when he saw the Note on the door. A smile pulling at his lips.

_Come in Mr. Punchy._

_He pushed open the door and walked inside._

"_Saw you two days ago sitting on the roof." Her voice was soft and she spoke as if they had seen each other yesterday._

"_And you let me bake?" He stood still. Waiting to see if she would try and run again._

"_I'm tired of running. Doesn't mean I was going to make it easy for you." _

"_Parker." His tone was soft as the smile vanished. He took a step towards her but froze as she turned. Her face was serious. The smile he had heard in her words was gone from her face. Instead he saw dark circles and worry etched on her face._

"_You hurt me. I told you I was scared, I told you I was lost." her voice cracked with pain. "Then you told me I was fine, that I was good. You made me believe and then you pushed me away."_

"_I didn't mean…"_

"_Don't. I'm the one who doesn't know. Who makes mistake. Who doesn't understand people. You know the rules Eliot. You've always known the rules."_

"_I don't know these rules. It was new to me too. You were new to me." _

"_It doesn't matter. I'm not going back. I'll call Sophie and Nate but I'm not going back." He heard her unspoken pain. She had opened herself up to them and he had let her down. He had hurt her and he could understand why she didn't want to go through that again._

_He nodded at her words. Understanding why it would be useless to try and reason with her. _

"_I'm sorry." Parker turned back towards him. She tried to hide the shock of his words. It was confusing the way those little words made her feel a little better. How they eased the burden. She took a step forward before shaking her head and turning away. She remembered the pain. The way it felt when he pushed her away._

_He moved towards her. Silent and quickly. Placing his hand on her shoulder. Spinning her towards him with a gasp. He brought his face down to hers. He had to taste her. If this was the last time he was ever going to see her he couldn't stand one more regret._

_If she punched him he would deserve it and maybe it would make her feel better._

_The moment his lips touched hers she melted into him. Her arms going up around his shoulders to pull him closer. She had thought about this moment. More than she cared to admit. _

_She had never craved another person. Never needed anyone._

_Eliot was different. _

_She was different when she was with him. _

_She felt a tear escape and she pulled Eliot closer. Trying to lose herself in the feel of his soft lips on her. In the feel of his strong hands on her hips. _

_When he pulled back for air his heart was racing like he had run a marathon and his head was spinning. He smiled softly at Parker and brushed the tear off her cheek with his thumb. _

"_I'm sorry Parker, so sorry. I should have been honest. I should have talked to you, told you." He tried to turn away but Parker wouldn't loosen her grip. "Everything is so complicated. The team and Hardison and me. I didn't want to do this to you. I wanted to help. I care about you. Probably too much."_

_He said the last words in a whisper and Parker felt a warmth spread over her before he pulled away._

"_I wanted to bring you back. I wanted everything to go back to the way it was." He stepped towards the window and stared out into the dense jungle. "I'm bad news Parker. You should stay away from me."_

_His words made her heart ache. "You are a good man." She walked towards him, her pain pushed back by a need to comfort him. "You keep us all safe Eliot. All of us. When you are angry and you threaten us you act like you don't care but you risk your own life to keep us safe."_

"_My life isn't worth anything." This time Parker grabbed his shoulder and turned him towards her. _

"_Don't say that. Don't ever say that." _

"_Parker.." There was a soul deep sadness in his voice._

"_Don't start that. Don't tell me about your past. I know Eliot. You lost your way, you did things that haunt you. I don't need to know the details. I see it in you. The darkness." She smiled sadly. Suddenly it was so clear to her. She had thought he had done this to her. That he had somehow made her run. _

_It wasn't his fault. She was broken and she had gotten used the rest of the team being better with their feelings but he was just as scarred as she was. Sometimes they only saw the ones on the surface and forgot about the ones on his soul. The deep dark ones that haunted him._

"_There was a time when you were 'bad news', when we should have all been afraid of you but that was along time ago. You aren't that man anymore."_

_He grabbed her arms. He wanted her to understand. "You think I'm not still a killer?" _

"_It's not the same."_

"_Murder is murder."_

"_That's foolish. Are we still just thieves? We break the law everyday. The reasons we do things change them." She reached up and traced the line of his jaw. She hated the tension she saw there. "The world isn't black and white."_

"_When did you become an expert on morality?" Parker wanted to pull away but she saw a twinkle in his eye._

"_I've been reading. Ethics and Morality and other heavy topics."_

_Eliot bit back the trite blonde joke that was sitting on his tongue and reached towards Parker. His hand snaking behind her head and pulling her back toward him. She was close enough to feel his breath on her lips. "It isn't going to be easy."_

"_Are we talking Strenco difficult or Glenreader?" Eliot smiled. Leave it to Parker to compare their relationship to safes._

"_Does it matter? We haven't come across anything we couldn't crack together." She smiled as his lips descended on hers. _

_The end?_

_Reviews please please please. I had intended to end this here but who knows. I might get inspired again. _


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